Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (congenital or acquired) - idiopathic gonadotropin or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) deficiency or pituitary-hypothalamic injury from tumors, trauma, or radiation. These men have low testosterone serum levels but have gonadotropins in the normal or low range.

AndroGel® has not been clinically evaluated in males under 18 years of age.

Pharmacokinetics of testosterone and estradiol gel preparations in healthy young
men. [2013]The paucity of pharmacokinetic data on testosterone gel formulations and absence
of such data on estradiol administration in healthy young men constitutes a
fundamental gap of knowledge in behavioral endocrinological research. We
addressed this issue in a double-blind and placebo controlled study in which we
applied a topical gel containing either 150mg of testosterone (N=10), 2mg of
estradiol (N=8) or a respective placebo (N=10) to 28 healthy young men...

A Study of Fortigel Testosterone Gel 2% in Males With Low Testosterone [Active, not recruiting]
Low testosterone is a condition that occurs when the body is unable to produce sufficient
quantities of testosterone. The medical name for low testosterone is hypogonadism.
Hypogonadism can be caused by many factors. Symptoms include: decrease in libido, lack of
energy and mood swings. The goal of testosterone replacement therapy is to return
testosterone levels to the normal range and relieve symptoms.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of Fortigel testosterone gel 2% to
maintain serum (blood) testosterone levels within the normal range in hypogonadal men aged 18
to 75 years. This will be determined by blood sampling at specified times during the study.
The study is also intended to evaluate the tolerability of Fortigel, which will be applied to
the skin each day throughout the study period.

You are able to join this trial because your prostate cancer is growing even though you have
very low levels of testosterone. Studies have shown that high doses of testosterone, in this
situation, can cause prostate cancer cells to stop growing.

The investigators did a study several years ago in which the investigators gave high doses
of testosterone to patients such as yourself. The investigators showed that giving
testosterone in this situation was safe. The investigators also showed that the
investigators could, in some cases, make the PSA go down using high-dose testosterone.

The investigators believe that they can improve this type of treatment by combining
testosterone with another drug called dutasteride. Dutasteride is another type of hormone.
It should make testosterone levels rise. The investigators believe that combination of
dutasteride and testosterone will be more a more powerful regimen against your cancer than
testosterone alone.

During this nine week, outpatient, double-blind study, male subjects between the ages of 30
and 65 years with treatment-refractory depression and low or borderline low testosterone
levels will be treated with either AndroGel or placebo. Following this nine week,
double-blind phase, eligible subjects will have the option to continue into a six month,
open-label phase during which time all subjects will receive the AndroGel patch.

Influence of Administration Route of Testosterone on Male Fertility [Not yet recruiting]
Exogenously administered testosterone will override the normal negative feedback of
endogenous testosterone on the hypothalamus and pituitary. Constantly, relatively high and
constant testosterone levels will cause a drop in FSH and LH production by the pituitary.
Since FSH and LH are signalling hormones to the testes, endogenous testosterone production
and spermatogenesis will be down-regulated. It is expected that intranasal dosing in the
morning will mimic the normal physiological pattern of testosterone production thereby
avoiding negative side-effects on spermatogenesis. Trans-dermal gels give testosterone
levels more or less constant over the day and will very likely have inhibitory effects on
spermatogenesis.

The main objective of this study is to show that twice daily intranasal dosing does not
have, or has a smaller inhibitory effect on spermatogenesis in comparison to transdermal
testosterone gels.

PATIENT REVIEWS / RATINGS / COMMENTS

Based on a total of 1 ratings/reviews, Androgel has an overall score of 10. The effectiveness score is 10 and the side effect score is 8. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst.

Androgel review by 62 year old male patient

Rating

Overall rating:

Effectiveness:

Highly Effective

Side effects:

Mild Side Effects

Treatment Info

Condition / reason:

male andropause

Dosage & duration:

50 mg taken twice per day for the period of the last 8 years

Other conditions:

none

Other drugs taken:

HCG

Reported Results

Benefits:

Extremely better clarity of mind. Much higher energy. More strength. More optimism. More vigor.

Side effects:

At first I didn't realize that it was significantly converting to DHT and causing typical male pattern hairloss. Once I realized it was happening, I was able to slow it down greatly via a shampoo designed to block DHT (not systematically, just on the scalp).